Capture — at least four years

• Claim filed: “the project would take at least four years to complete.”
• Who: Malcolm Turnbull, 16 March 2017
• URL: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/mar/16/turnbull-2bn-snowy-hydro-electric-expansion
• Date on page: 16 March 2017
• Publisher: The Guardian
• Title: Turnbull to announce $2bn expansion to Snowy hydro-electric scheme
• Captured: 2026-08-14
• Method: saved HTML (guardian-2017-03-16.html)

Verbatim (Guardian)

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has been asked to prepare a feasibility study and report back by the end of the year. Turnbull said construction will begin “soon after” that, although the project would take at least four years to complete.

ABC, same week: feasibility finished by end of 2017, work to begin in 2018. ARENA had warned pumped hydro lead times of up to seven years.

Official second date — operational from 2024

abc-2017-12-21.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-21/snowy-hydro-2.0-could-actually-cost-as-much-as-$4.5b/9277368

If it goes ahead, the expanded Snowy Hydro project will be operational from 2024.

The other meter

abc-2026-06-03.html
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-03/billions-over-budget-years-late-how-snowy-hydro-2-got-here/106706518

The project in the NSW Kosciuszko National Park is seven years behind schedule

Snowy 2.0's power station is expected to start generating power in late 2027 and is slated for completion in December 2028.

ANAO via ABC, 18 June 2026 — abc-anao-2026-06-18.html

The baseline schedule for the project's completion had not been agreed upon, meaning the auditors were unable to determine how far off completion the project was.

ANAO snapshot: first power second half of 2027; commercial operation of all units December 2028.

What this file does not do

It does not file “never finish.” It files “at least four years” / “from 2024” against a 2028 line the auditor could not baseline.